The Beauty of Seasonal Produce in Istanbul

I noticed it first when the pomegranates disappeared.

In the beginning of my time here in Istanbul, the cheap and luscious pomegranates were a revelation—I could get them in the USA of course, but not for such little money and with such consistent quality. I started eating pomegranates nearly every day.

And then, the pomegranates vanished.

It happened suddenly—one day my local greengrocer simply didn’t have pomegranates anymore.

The reason was simple.

They’d gone out of season.

One of the things I love the most about living in Istanbul is the very fresh and very cheap produce—I eat WAY more fruits and vegetables here than I did in Boston, simply because they are some of the most cost-effective foodstuffs to subsist on. But with that freshness comes this frustrating fact I hadn’t considered—produce here is highly seasonal.

As an American who grew up with supermarkets, I was never really aware of what seasons yielded which fruits and vegetables. Sure, my dad’s garden exploded with cherry tomatoes in August… but I could buy them at Market Basket in January. Sure, the pumpkins and squashes and other autumnal gourds were most widely available come September… but when push came to shove, I could find butternut squash pretty much any time of the year. Oranges in the summer, avocadoes in the winter… I had a vague sense that maybe this was unusual, but generally if the store had it, I didn’t think twice.

Now here I was in springtime Istanbul, bereft of pomegranates, and realizing all the joys and frustrations that come from seasonality.

It certainly keeps me creative. I love cooking nearly as much as I love photography, and the challenge of using whatever’s in season or re-appropriating old recipes for new produce is exciting for me. It also keeps me from procrastinating—if I wait too long, that strange-looking vegetable might be gone!

The most glorious season for me was the late August/early September stretch when my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FRUIT was in season—Istanbul was simply RESPLENDENT with figs! Figs are very seasonal anyway, and it was always a challenge to find them in Boston. I used to go to Boston’s Haymarket for the best fig deals, but the quality was hit-or-miss. Here, the figs were luscious, and spilling out of markets and the carts of street vendors. I would buy a kilo a day and devour them—fresh, in salads, in risotto, whatever. I was in fig heaven. And as if that season couldn’t get better, late-summer was the first time I found avocadoes in Istanbul. Everything was lovely, just lovely.

But all things must pass, especially in a country where produce is seasonal. I went to Ireland… and when I returned, the figs had vanished. The avocadoes appear occasionally still, but the quality has declined and they are limping their way out of my market.

The figs might be gone, but the pumpkins have arrived, as have the persimmons, and my beloved pomegranates have come back in season. They are the fruit of paradise, you know.